• Savage's New B22 FV 22LR Bolt-Action Rimfire Rifle



    The B-Series naturally comes standard with Savage's excellent AccuTrigger.

    Special thanks to Federal Premium and CCI Ammunition for providing me with a variety of 22LR ammo for use during my testing. I also threw in some Eley, Geco and Norma ammunition from my personal stash as well. Ammo used during testing is as follows:


    • CCI Standard Velocity
    • CCI Select
    • Eley Club
    • Federal Field Pack (bulk pack)
    • Federal Range Pack (bulk pack)
    • Federal Hunter Match
    • Geco Semi-Auto
    • Norma Tac-22


    Initially I mounted up a Leupold VX-R HOG 1.25-4x30mm scope to the rifle as I was having trouble finding a set of 1” rings that would fit the included bases which aren’t quite “standard” Weaver-type bases.

    My first trip to the range was simply to sight-in the scope and start seasoning the barrel, for which I used a full 275ct. box of Federal Field Pack ammo. Shooting off a bipod and rear Protektor bag I was rather surprised by how well the rifle was shooting at 50 yards, especially given the low-power scope with its rather heavy crosshair and the gusty conditions.


    The vast majority of my groups from this session fell into the ¾ to 1-1/4” range, but many of them had three or four shots right on top of one another and were opened up by just one or two strays. I also had a handful of groups that fell in the high 3’s and low 4’s which told me the gun was ready and willing to shoot tiny groups. I just needed a better optic that would allow me more magnification and a finer crosshair for a more consistent point of aim on the small NRA A-17 targets I was shooting at.

    That night I returned home and after a little tweaking on a set of my Burris Signature Zee rings to get them to fit the supplied bases I mounted a Bushnell 3-12x40mm scope from their Rimfire Optics line to the rifle. I will be doing a separate review on the scope in the near future.

    On my second trip to the range I opted to forgo the bipod and chose to shoot off a mechanical front rest instead. The B22 FV had shown me it wanted to shoot small groups, so I wanted to give it the very best chance of doing so. Ammunition for this session included the Geco Semi-Auto, CCI Select and the Federal Hunter Match. Conditions were less than favorable with gusty winds, but it was a straight on head-wind for the most part.

    I started with 150 rounds of the Geco Semi-Auto as I’ve had pretty good success with it in few other rifles. The B22 FV didn’t seem to take to it though as the best group I was able to get from it was a 0.552” and the overall aggregate was 0.782”. Not bad, but I’ve already seen that this rifle was capable of better – much better.



    Next up I tried some of the Federal Hunter Match ammo. This ammo is new for this year so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they felt very light and the bullets had some wobble in the case so I wasn’t expecting too much from it. After 200 rounds my suspicions were verified as only four groups were sub MOA in the mid 4’s while the aggregate for all the groups was a less than stellar 0.903”.



    Last up for the day was the CCI Select. I had never shot this ammunition before so I wasn’t sure what to expect, but given the price it sells for I knew it should be fairly decent. The CCI Select didn’t disappoint and justified its cost as it proved to be the most consistent of all the ammo tested in the B22 FV. After 200 rounds its 40 group aggregate was 0.558” with many of those groups falling in the mid to high 3’s.




    Comments 7 Comments
    1. WV1951's Avatar
      WV1951 -
      Thanks for the write up.
    1. WV1951's Avatar
      WV1951 -
      Does this take the same bases for scope mount as the Markll/93R models?
    1. J.Baker's Avatar
      J.Baker -
      That I'm not sure. Two piece bases look like they would bolt right on, but don't have a Mark II/93R rail around to verify the spread between the two sets of screws.
    1. BBOB662's Avatar
      BBOB662 -
      I just bought one of these Canada made rifles used without a magazine. Do you know where I can get a mag? Savage made mags don't fit & when I called Savage Arms they were unable to help me.
    1. skyrep's Avatar
      skyrep -
      If your looking for a Magazine for the MK II - I got mine at Bud's Gun Shop (www.budsgunshop.com). Ten round magazines were $16.84 each
    1. Czy_Horse's Avatar
      Czy_Horse -
      The Savage 22 cal. A22 & B22 use the same magazine. Butler Creek has a 25 round mag.
    1. lhrh13's Avatar
      lhrh13 -
      Just bought this same rifle about 3 months ago. This is the first write up I have found with some good data. I switched to a Boyd stock because the original plastic was kind of flimsy. Have a 6-24x40 Bushnell on it with 1" tall rings. I tested a bunch of ammo shooting 10 shot groups at 50 yards. Best groups were Wolf Match Target .270, SK Std+ .321 and Eley Club .345. CCI SV was a respectable .501. Have not tried more expensive brands. I am going to try 100 yds then 200 (have replaced rails with 20 MOA)